Over Dependency on Technology

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Ashley Boggs Sci-Fi Fantasy Mrs. Bull-Davie 18 September 2013 Over Dependency on Technology People conceive different opinions about their predictions of the outcome of the future. Some people drastically visualize the Earth with robot companions and flying cars, and others don’t think society will advance any more than it is currently. The progression of technology, however, seems to be the main topic of individuals’ views. In the short stories “Harrison Bergeron”, by Vincent Benet, and “By the Waters of Babylon”, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., portrayed the future with a negative outcome. The reader can interpret the two short stories as a warning to today’s and future generations on abusing technology. “Harrison Bergeron” and “By the Waters of Babylon” demonstrate that; over-dependency on technology will result in demeaning the human race, and or the end of the human race. “Harrison Bergeron” is about an American society in the future that has taken a “turn for the worse”. Individuals are restricted from having unique talents or attractive features. They are ordered by the government to wear heavy metal and ugly masks, which they refer to as “handicaps”. It is the government’s goal to make everyone in society equal to each other, so there will not be insecurity or envious feelings in individuals. “They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else…” (Vonnegut 1). The author of this short story composed the story to make the future worse than our current reality. They intended to inform the reader that society in the story could be the result for our nation if we let television media control our lives. Television should not be the biggest influence on a person’s life. Over dependency on technology
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